jUN  ial928 

11    I  Economics  Circular  No.  14.  Oct&ber,  1922. 

I  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR 

IS  BUREAU   OF  EDUCATION 

=  > 

=c  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


CURRENT  PROBLEMS  IN  HOME  ECONOMICS 
INSTRUCTION  AND  SUPERVISION. 

By  Henrietta  W.  Calvin, 
Specialist  in  Home  Economics,  Burextu  of  Education. 


Report  of  a  series  of  conferences  of  supervisors  and  teachers  of  home  eco- 
nomics, called  by  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  and  held  at— 

New  York  City,  N.  Y February  16,  17,  18. 

Chicago,  111 March  3,  4. 

Spokane,  Wash April  4,  5,  6. 

Portland,  Oreg April  7,  8. 

San  Francisco,  Calif April  12,  13. 

Los  Angeles,  Calif April  21,  22. 

Logan,  Utah April  28. 

Salt  Lake  City,  Utah April  29. 

Denver,  Colo May  5,  6. 

Kansas  City,  Mo May  12,  13. 

Boston,  Mass July  6. 

INTRODUCTION. 

In  January,  1922,  plans  were  started  for  a  series  of  conferences 
for  those  interested  in  public  school  home  economics  education. 
Representatives  from  36  States  were  in  attendance  at  these  meetings, 
and  over  1,200  home-economics  teachers  participated  in  the  discus- 
sions. ■  All  except  the  first  two  were  open  to  all  home  economics 
women  interested  in  public-school  education.  The  first  two  were  for 
city  supervisors  of  home  economics. 

The  programs  for  these  conferences  were  prepared  from  answers 
to  questionnaires  sent  out  to  the  home  economics  teachers  of  the  sev- 
eral regions.  The  topics  which  were  most  often  requested  in  any 
region  were  placed  upon  the  regional  program  for  that  region.  The 
speakers  selected  for  opening  the  subjects  were  each  limited  to  15  or 
20  minutes.  A  free  discussion  followed  each  address  and  usually 
lasted  one  hour.    In  many  of  the  conferences  special  committees  con- 

18058°— 22  '       '      ' 


2  HOME  ECONOMICS  INSTRUCTION. 

tinned  their  consideration  of  the  topics  throughout  hmcheon,  dinner, 
and  evening. 

The  following  is  a  typical  program  and  the  general  statement  that 
Avas  sent  with  it: 

Department  ok  thk  1^1101198,-3^,—.  -.-^  TM'^MTQ  Washington. 

Bureau  of  Education'.       ^"  '     "'^    I  i.i:JIVI  I  H  January  30.  1922. 

I'iorfAOuar!  ^0  '  /^iFiU?^' 

CONFERENCE  OF  CITY-  8^PEB VISORS  OF  HOME 
ECONOMICS. 

t  t/r.-^'/TAvT    "TTrr.T' ^^20<?ie4|i/.  j  rqAnn    t/'.' 

Thursilan.iyhruani  16.  '     ''      " 

6.30  p.  111.  Dinner,  Stockton  Tea  Room,  306,  Wmt  One  hundred  and  ninth 
Street,  New  York  City. 
"  Relation  of  honie  economics  teacliers  to  sdiool  healtli  and  nutri- 
tion \york  "; — Dr.  Mary  Swartz  Rose,  Columbia  University.  Dis- 
cussion. Agnes  Craig,  supervisor  of  home  economics,  Springfield, 
Mass. 

Friday,  February  17. 
9^ t^,iu.    Assembly    Hall,    Pratt   Institute,   Brooklyn,   N.    Y.     "Home  eco- 
.'Al  ,7(  .!'     nomics  courses  of  study  for  junior  high  schools" — Grace  Gillett, 
Albany,   N.   Y. 
&.50  a.  m.     General  discussion. 

11.00  a.  m.     "  Improvement  of  teachers  in  service  " — Grace  Schermerhorn,  di- 
rector of  cooking,  New  York  City. 
11.20  a.  m.     General  discussion. 

12.00  m.         Luncheon,   lunch   room,   Pratt    Institute. 
1.30  p.  m.     "  Home  economics  in  platoon  schools  " — Ethel  Mason  Coan,  super- 
visor of  home  economics,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.  ^         .       ,. 
1.50  p.  m.     Discussion.  .oM  ,7.)<'^  au^fui.-i 

2.30  p.  m.     "  Home  economics  departments  in  new  school  buildings  "—^Frances 

Zuill,  .supervisor  of  home  economics,  Baltimore,  Md. 
2.50  p.  m.     Discussion. 

3.30  p.  m.     Visit  to  newly  equipped  home  economics  departments.  Public  School 
29. 
Evening.        Informal  conferences  and  ^committee  meetings. 

Saturday,  February  18.  ;  ni  :ri9W  a^iai^i  08  mo''{'i 

9.30  a.  m.    Teachers'  College,  Columbia  University.    Room  to  be  announced. 
"  What  elective  courses  will  attract  senior  high-scliool  girls? '" — 
Mary  Henleigh  Brown,   Somerville,  Mass.-  i  ^, 
9.50  a.  ni.    Discussion. 

11.00  a.m.     (a)  "  Use  of  cooking-class  products:  (h)  Hov.- may  home  economics 
,    .  be  made  to  function  In  the  home  11  fe  of  the  children  ?  "    General 

•  r^H  odi  'to      discussion.  o  )aoi  2:*!iii!inoi??'jiJp  oJ 

Luncheon :  Horace  Mann  Lunch  Room.  '■■;.) 

1.30  p.  m.     '"Elementary  school  home  economics  courses;    (a)   Content;   (,6)i 
Preparation  of  the  teacher  " — Alice  L.  Currier,  Pawtucket,  R;  I. 
1.50  p.  m.     Discussion.  '*^i' 

2.30  p.  m.    "  Can  instruction  be  so  varied  as  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  indi- 
vidual students?  "    General  discussion. 
3.00  p.  m.     Committee  conclusions. 


HOME   ECONOMICS  INSTTIUCTION.  8 

General  information. 

Headquarters. — McAIpin  Hotel. 

February  16.  Dinner,  6.30  p.  m.  sharp.  Stockton  Tea  Room,  306  West  One  hundred 
and  ninth  Street.  Tickets  $2.  Send  money  for  reservation  to  Miss  Grace  Schermerhorn. 
131  Livingston  Street,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  It  Is  necessary  to  have  approximate  number  of 
reservations  known  by  Febmary  12. 

To  reach  Pratt  Institute. — Enter  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  subway  at  corner  of  McAlpin 
Hotel ;  take  train  via  bridge  to  DeKalb  Station.     On  coming  to  surface,  take  outbound 
DeKalb  Avenue  car.     Get  off  at  Ryerson  Street,  where  Pratt  Institute  is  located. 
Committees  to  be  formed  the  first  morning  on  the  following  topics  : 
Junior  high-school  course  of  study. 
Home  economics  and  health  work. 
Improvement  of  teachers  in  service. 
Courses  of  study  for  fifth  and  sixth  grades. 

Elective  courses  for  grades  10-12,  Inclusive.  * 

Adequate  curricula  for  home  economics  teacher  preparation. 
It  is  suggested  that  each  supervisor  decide  which  committee  she  wishes  to  join.     Com- 
mittees will  choose  own  chairman   and  arrange   for  meetings.      It  is  hoped  reports  will 
be  ready  Saturday  afternoon. 

Please  arrange  to  stay  until  4.30  p.  m.,  Saturday,  that  the  last  of  our  meetings  may 
be  as  profitable  as  the  first. 
There  will  be  no  exhibits. 

All  home  economics  teachers  in  colleges  and  normal  schools  and  all  State  supervisors 
of  home  economics  are  most  welcome  at  all  meetings  of  this  conference  and  are  invited 
to  participate  in  the  discussions. 


Department  of  the  Interior,  Washington. 

Bureau  of  Education. 

THE  CONFERENCE  IN  NEW  YORK  OF  CITY  SUPERVISORS  OF  HOME 

ECONOMICS. 

Evening  February  16;  all  of  February  17  and  18. 

The  city  supervisors  attending  ttie  conference  will  be  from  cities  varying  in 
population  from  less  tlian  20,000  to  more  than  4,000,000. 

The  size  of  the  city,  the  degree  of  congestion,  the  nativity  of  population 
(whether  largely  foreign  or  strongly  American),  and  the  types  of  employment 
most  common,  all  these  affect  the  problems  confronting  the  home  economics 
supervisor.  These  differences  in  problems  will  cause  variations  in  the  view- 
points of  those  participating  in  the  conference. 

A  few  cities  have  been  listed  according  to  population  as  an  aid  to  the  super- 
visors who  wish  to  group  themselves  together  at  luncheons  and  at  other  times 
for  special  discussions. 

The  group  of  largest  cities  includes  New  York  City,  Philadelphia,  Buffalo, 
Pittsburgh,  Baltimore,  and  Boston. 

The  300,000  group  includes  the  following  cities :  Washington ;  .Jer.sey  City ; 
Providence,  R.  I. ;  Newark,  N.  .J.;  and  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

The  100,000  group  is  the  largest.  The  following  are  some  of  the  cities  in 
which  the  problems  should  be  somewhat  similar :  Paterson,  Camden,  Trenton, 
N.  J. ;  Cambridge,  Springfield,  Fall  River,  Lawrence,  Lowell,  Somerville,  New 
Bedford,  Worcester,  Mass. ;  Scranton,  Harrisburg,  Johnstown,  Erie,  Pa. ;  Bridge- 
port, Hartford,  New  Haven,  Waterbury,  Conn. ;  Richmond,  Norfolk,  Va. ;  Wil- 
mington, Del. ;  Manchester,  N.  H. ;  Pawtucket,  R.  I. ;  Albany,  Schenectady, 
Syracuse,  Troy,  Yonkers,  Utica,  N.  Y. 

The  smaller  city  group  includes  the  following,  and  among  these  there  should 
be  many  problems  in  common :  Haverhill,  Holyoke,  Maiden,  Mass. ;  Bangor. 
Lewiston,  Me. ;  Woonsocket,  R.  I. ;  Burlington,  Vt. ;  Nashua,  N.  H. ;  Meriden, 
Conn. ;  Auburn,  Amsterdam,  Elmira,  .Jamestown,  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y. 


4  HOME  ECONOMICS  INSTRUCTION. 

SOME  PRESSING    QUESTIONS. 

The  junior  high  school  Is  apparently  an  accepted  advance  step  in  school 
orpanization.  Home-economics  people  must  be  ready  to  adjust  their  courses 
to  the  prevailing  ideas  in  regard  to  junior  high-school  organization. 

The  platoon  plan  is  growing  in  popularity.  For  instance,  all  Detroit  schools 
have  now  been  reorganized  into  platoon  schools.  Have  home-economics  women 
definite  ideas  of  what  may  be  done  in  their  subject  under  this  arrangement  of 
work? 

A  great  interest  in  child  health  work  has  developed.  This  is  manifested  by 
nutrition  clinics.  What  part  are  home-economics  teachers  to  have  in  this 
movement  for  instruction  in  right  food  habits  for  all  children  and  special  feed- 
ing for  malnourished? 

Almost  all  school  building  programs  are  five  or  more  years  behind  the  needs 
of  the  school  population.  What  shall  home-economics  women  seek  in  the  new 
buildings  to  be  constructed? 

Economy  is  essential  in  all  school  operations.  How  can  home-economics  teach- 
ing be  both  efficient  and  economical? 

What  should  the  supervisor  expect  from  the  schools  training  home-economics 
teachers?    More  of  what?    Less  of  what? 

How  can  home  economics  be  "  sold "  to  the  young  teachers  of  home 
economics? 

How  can  the  work  of  teachers  in  service  be  improved?  These  and  other 
questions  will  be  discussed,  and  committees  will  be  appointed  to  codify  the 
opinions  arrived  at. 

Headquarters  will  be  at  the  McAlpin  Hotel.  Rates  are  as  follows :  One  person  In 
room  without  bath,  $3.50  and  up ;  two  persons  in  room  without  bath,  $5.50  and  up ; 
one  person  in  room  with  bath,  $4.50  and  up ;  two  persons  In  room  with  bath,  $6.50 
and  up. 

It  would  be  well  in  writing  .for  a  reservation  to  mention  the  fact  that  you  will  be  In 
attendance  at  the  conference  of  home-economics  supervisors  and  that  you  wish  to  be 
placed  on  the  sixth  floor  if  possible.     It  is  well  to  state  type  of  room  desired. 

Miss  Grace  Schermerhorn,  131  Livingston  Street,  Brooklyn,  is  arranging  for  the  dinner 
to  be  held  tlie  evening  of  February  18.  It  is  desirable  that  she  know  as  soon  as  possible 
the  names  of  those  expecting  to  be  present. 


ATTENDANCE. 

In  general  the  conferences  began  with  a  dinner  and  continued 
through  two  days.  Local  arrangements  were  made  by  local  super- 
visors and  teachers.  Without  that  cooperation  the  holding  of  so 
many  conferences  would  not  have  been  possible. 

The  numbers  in  attendance  at  the  conferences  varied  from  about 
40  to  220.  One  hundred  proved  to  be  a  good  working  group.  Too 
small  a  number  gave  diversified  interests  without  a  sufficient  number 
having  a  common  interest  in  one  particular  problem.  Too  large  a 
number  had  a  tendency  to  suppress  free  discussion  and  to  resolve 
itself  into  an  ordinary  meeting  with  a  few  doing  all  the  talking. 
THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL. 

Without  exception  there  were  requests  from  every  section  of  the 
country  that  consideration  be  given  to  the  question  of  the  place  of 
home  economics  in  the  junior  high  school,  the  type  of  course  to 
be  presented,  and  the  amount  of  time  to  be  allotted  to  this  subject. 


HOME   ECONOMICS  INSTRUCTION.  0 

These  conclusions  were  reached;  That  any  course  or  method  in 
home  economics  which  is  suitable  for  use  in  junior  high  schools  is 
equally  valuable  for  use  in  the  upper  two  grades  of  an  eight-grade 
school  and  the  first  grade  of  the  regular  four-year  high  school ;  that 
the  instruction  should  be  of  such  a  nature  as  is  of  most  value  to  a  girl 
of  the  age,  mental  development,  social  and  economic  environment, 
and  personal  interests  in  these  grades  without  regard  to  the  particu- 
lar school  organization  set  up  in  the  city  or  section  of  the  city  in 
which  she  happens  to  live ;  that  home  economics  should  be  a  required 
subject  in  grades  7  to  9,  inclusive ;  that  the  minimum  time  allotted  to 
home  economics  should  be  about  220  minutes  p)er  week  in  the  seventh 
and  eighth  grades ;  that  not  less  than  220  minutes,  and  if  possible  310 
minutes,  per  week  should  be  assigned  in  the  ninth  grade  to  home 
economics ;  that  while  home-economics  women  as  a  rule  prefer  double 
periods  for  laboratory  work,  it  is  possible  to  do  excellent  work  in 
55  or  60  minute  periods;  that  45-minute  laboratory  periods  are  too 
short  to  accomplish  satisfactory  results;  that  better  results  can  be 
obtained  with  daily  periods  for  part  of  the  year  than  scattered 
periods  throughout  the  year — i.  e.,  if  the  school  "hour"  is  of  45  min- 
utes, then  90  minutes  daily  for  one-half  year  is  more  desirable  than 
90  minutes  twice  a  week  each  week  throughout  the  year;  or  if  the 
school  "  hour  "  is  of  60  minutes,  then  60  minutes  every  day  for  two- 
thirds  of  the  year  is  most  to  be  desired ;  that  home  economics  should 
be  broadly  interpreted  and  that  cooking  and  sewing  are  but  phases 
of  home  economics,  which  heretofore  have  been  stressed  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  other  perhaps  more  important  home  economics  subject  matter. 

In  these  conferences  it  was  evident  that  but  1  girl  in  12  will 
enroll  for  a  full  four-year  home-economics  course ;  hence,  that  what- 
ever may  be  considered  the  minimum  home-economics  training  essen- 
tial for  the  well-being  of  all  girls  should  be  included  as  required 
Avork  in  grades  below  the  tenth. 

In  the  East  a  strong  argument  for  the  above  conclusion  was  that 
more  than  50  per  cent  of  the  girls  entering  the  senior  high  school 
will  elect  the  commercial  curriculum,  which  curriculum  rarely  allows 
a  place  for  elective  courses  in  home  economics. 

In  the  Northwest  the  conditions  are  very  different.  Commercial 
courses  are  not  so  popular,  but  early  marriages  are  more  common, 
and  they  frequently  terminate  high-school  attendance. 

In  all  discussions  it  was  borne  in  mind  that  the  majority  of  girls 
in  the  public  junior  high  schools  come  from  homes  where  economy 
and  thrift  are  necessarj'  and  in  many  of  which  good  standards  of 
sanitation  and  household  management  under  American  conditions  are 
not  practiced.  It  was  also  recognized  that  at  present  three  out  of 
every  five  American  girls  are  gainfully  employed  between  the  ages 
of  16  and  24  years ;  hence,  what  is  given  to  them  in  home  economics 
must  be  given  as  early  as  possible  in  their  school  kfe. 


0  HOME  KCONOMICS  INSTBUCTION. 

Objectwes. — With  these  conclusions  acceptea,  the  discussions  cen- 
tered about  ways  most  effective  for  accomplishing  the  objectives 
determined  upon.  These  objectives  were:  {a)  To  cultivate  an  ap- 
preciation of  home  life;  (b)  to  aid  in  forming  right  food  habits; 
((•)  to  promote  home  helpfulness  and  to  teach  the  use  of  common 
household  equipment;  (d)  to  stimulate  an  interest  in  the  reasons  for, 
as  well  as  the  methods  of,  doing  certain  household  tasks;  (e)  to 
develop  judgment  and  to  cultivate  intelligent  choice  in  food,  cloth- 
ing, and  shelter;  (/')  to  assist  in  establishing  ideals  of  ethical  con- 
duct; {g)  to  awaken  a  desire  for  worthy  use  of  leisure 

Orgatdzation  of  work. — The  pros  and  cons  were  presented  in 
regard  to  two  plans  for  the  organization  of  home-economics  class 
work,  viz,  alternating  lessons,  i.  e.,  parallel  courses  in  foods  and  cloth- 
ing, and  intensive  courses  first  on  one  phase  of  home  economics,  then 
upon  another. 

There  was  some  question  as  to  the  possibility  of  the  latter  ar- 
rangement when  teachers  were  unevenly  trained  in  the  different 
types  of  home  economics,  but  it  was  shown  that,  wherever  there 
were  two  sections  of  one  class  meeting  or  two  classes  in  home  eco- 
nomics meeting  at  the  same  time,  it  was  quite  as  easy  to  organize  the 
instruction  into  alternating  cycles  of  six  or  nine  weeks  of  intensive 
work  as  to  alternate  the  types  of  work  either  daily  or  weekly.  This 
adjustment  is  an  administrative  problem  not  impossible  of  solu- 
tion when  there  is  a  decision  that  the  intensive  type  of  instruction 
secures  the  best  results. 

Projects. — On  the  assumption  that  the  intensive  unit  plan  will 
prove  most  satisfactory  and  that  the  units  should  center  around 
problems  in  foods,  clothing,  and  shelter,  it  became  evident  that 
there  might  be  differences  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  projects 
selected  for  these  units. 

The  consensus  of  opinion  favored  the  meal  plan  for  food  teaching. 
T\Tiether  the  first  meal  chosen  should  be  breakfast,  luncheon,  or  sup- 
per was  not  agreed.  Arguments  were  presented  in  favor  of  supper 
lessons  first.  These  were  that  it  is  most  easily  used  by  the  child  in 
her  own  home.  While  breakfast  has  often  been  chosen  as  the  first 
project,  it  is  quite  possible  that  a  child  will  not  arise  in  time  to  assist 
in  breakfast  preparation,  though  she  can  easily  help  about  supper. 

Because  the  socialized  method  of  teaching  is  accepted  as  the  better 
method,  it  was  suggested  that  the  pupils  of  the  seventh  grade  be  per- 
mitted to  choose  which  meal  they  wished  to  study  first  and  that  the 
series  of  lessons  be  evolved  from  the  answers  to  such  questions  as 
"  What  should  I  eat  for  breakfast,  that  I  may  be  strong  and  well  ?  " ; 
"  What  fruits  in  the  market  are  reasonably  priced  ?  "  "  AVhat  vege- 
tables in  the  markets  are  grown  locally  and  are  in  season  ?  "  "  What 
can  I  do  that  will  really  help  mother  in  the  kitchen  ?  " 


HOME  ECONOMICS  INSTRUCTIOK'.  7 

In  like  manner  after  the  teacher  has  decided  the  general  type  of 
material  she  wishes  to  use  in  clothing  projects,  she  should  allow  her 
class  (either  individually  or  as  a  group)  to  select  the  garments  to  be 
made.  '^^^''^  / 

This  variety  of  problems  will  permit  adaptation  of  instruction  to 
the  ability  of  the  pupil  and  will  create  within  the  pupil  a  more  per- 
sonal interest.  No  project  should  be  decided  upon  which  entails  the 
purchase  of  material  the  type  of  which  is  unsuited  to  the  economic 
and  social  status  of  the  homes  from  which  the  pupils  come. 

The  special  objectives  of  this  instruction  should  be  to  teach  the 
use  of  the  sewing  machine  and  commercial  pattern  and  to  give  a  de- 
gree of  dexterity  in  hand  sewing  through  making  timely  and  suit- 
able garments  and  to  emphasize  the  relationship  of  the  child  to  other 
members  of  the  family. 

It  was  suggested  that  any  particular  article  of  temporary  interest 
should  be  made  if  the  children  desired  to  do  so.  An  illustration  of 
this  practice  was  the  making  of  brightly  colored  aprons,  so  much 
liked  by  girls  at  present,  and  bloomers  to  be  substituted  for  drawers. 

It  was  further  suggested  that  more  colorful  problems  be  selected, 
since  they  are  much  more  interesting  to  a  girl  than  the  all-white 
work  so  often  insisted  upon. 

Instruction  in  cost,  care,  and  laundering  should  accompany  the 
work  upon  every  garment. 

At  the  close  of  the  seventh  grade  a  girl  should  know  how  to 
do  simple  sewing  by  hand  and  machine;  how  to  use  a  commercial 
pattern ;  how  to  make  such  garments  as  plain  underclothes  and  sim- 
ple gingham  outer  garments;  how  to  laundry  and  how  to  mend  cot- 
ton garments;  and  how  to  select  suitable  materials.  She  should 
have  developed  a  greater  interest  in  the  household  operations  within 
her  own  home,  a  willingness  to  serve  other  members  of  the  family, 
and  a  desire  to  lessen  her  mother's  labor.  She  should  know  what 
food  materials  are  essential  to  the  maintenance  of  her  own  health, 
how  to  read  and  interpret  a  simple  recipe,  and  how  to  regulate  cook- 
ing temperature.  She  should  be  able  satisfactorily  to  prepare  alone 
a  plain  meal  such  as  breakfast  or  supper,  to  care  for  raw  or  cooked 
food,  and  do  all  necessary  dish  washing  and  kitchen  cleaning.  She 
should  be  able  to  care  for  her  own  room  and  to  do  as  much  work  in 
the  home  as  she  herself  makes  necessary. 

At  the  end  of  the  eighth  grade  her  knowledge  and  skill  in  house- 
hold matters  should  have  been  further  developed.  She  should  be 
able  to  use  machine  attachments,  clean  and  care  for  a  sewing  ma- 
chine, make  more  complicated  wash  garments,  prepare  a  more  diffi- 
cult meal,  and  assume  more  responsibility  in  her  own  home. 

Since  general  science  is  frequently  introduced  in  either  the  seventh 
or  eighth  grade,  there  is  opportunity  to  coordinate  home  economic^ 
teaching  with  this  work. 


8  HOME  ECONOMICS  INSTRUCTION. 

While  the  development  of  skill  should  be  stressed  in  the  seventh 
grade,  the  knowledge  of  the  reasons  for  certain  processes  also 
should  be  developed.  In  the  eighth  grade  much  emphasis  should  be 
laid  upon  the  scientific  basis  of  information  acquired.  Too  fre- 
(juently  the  intelligence  of  the  pupil  has  been  underestimated,  natural 
curiosity  has  been  unsatisfied,  and  the  child  has  been  bored  with  the 
problems  presented. 

The  ninth  grade  should  be  in  the  nature  of  a  survey  course  pre- 
paring the  pupil  for  intelligent  and  helpful  living  in  her  present 
home  and  for  making  wise  choice  of  food,  clothing,  and  environ- 
ment when  she  becomes  a  wage  earner. 

In  this  grade  less  stress  should  be  placed  upon  the  development 
of  skill  and  more  upon  intelligent  judgment. 

It  was  agreed  that  a  study  by  each  girl  of  her  own  condition  of 
nutrition  is  highly  desirable.  This  could  be  accomplished  by  co- 
operation with  the  physical-education  department.  The  girl  should 
be  weighed,  measured,  and  have  her  medical  examination.  She 
should  then  keep  a  record  of  the  kinds  and  approximate  quantities 
of  food  consumed,  modifications  of  diet  made,  and  results  secured. 
Following  the  study  of  her  own  condition  of  nutrition,  it  was  rec- 
ommended that  she  assume  responsibility  for  the  nutritional  con- 
dition of  some  younger  child. 

Purchase,  care,  and  repair  of  clothing  should  constitute  an  impor- 
tant part  of  the  ninth-grade  course.  One  problem  in  making  over 
garments  and  several  problems  in  cleaning,  removing  stains,  and 
pressing  should  be  included.  The  making  of  costume  accessories, 
such  as  collars  and  cuffs,  and  freshening  hat  trimmings  and  hats 
could  well  be  a  part  of  this  grade. 

It  was  considered  advisable  that  every  girl  in  the  ninth  gi'ade  be 
required  to  keep  a  clothing  budget  and  to  receive  some  instruction 
in  general  income  budgeting. 

As  a  considerable  percentage  of  junior  college  girls  do  not  take 
further  high-school  courses  in  home  economics,  it  was  concluded 
that  during  the  ninth  grade  there  should  be  instruction  on  invest- 
ments and  savings  and  simple  banking  practices. 

Ihiring  these  discussions  favorable  comment  followed  one  teacher's 
discussion,  wherein  she  told  how  she  and  the  manual-training  teacher 
exchanged  pupils  for  a  period.  The  girls  received  a  series  of  les- 
sons in  the  mechanics  of  the  household  and  the  boys  had  a  special 
course  planned  for  them  which  gave  them  simple  facts  about  food 
and  sanitation,  and  also  a  few  lessons  in  sewing  on  buttons  and 
emergency  mending. 

SENIOR  HIGH-SCHOOL  HOME  ECONOMICS. 

It  was  repeatedly  brought  out  in  the  conferences  that  only  about 
12  girls  out  of  each  100  elect  a  complete  high-school  home  economics 
curriculum.     Commercial    courses   attract   the   eastern   high-school 


HOME   ECONOMICS  INSTRUCTION.  9 

girl,  and  marriage  interferes  with  the  western  girl's  high-school 
career. 

In  both  the  East  and  the  West  there  are  numerous  universities  and 
colleges  which  will  not  permit  more  than  two  entrance  credits  of 
high-school  work  to  be  taken  in  home  economics. 

The  general  opinion  of  those  composing  these  conferences  was  that 
semester  units  of  work  elective  for  all  girls  were  more  valuable  than 
a  fixed  sequence  of  courses  open  only  to  those  enrolling  for  the  full 
high-school  curriculum. 

It  was  decided  that  in  most  instances  these  semester  courses  had 
best  be  so  offered  as  to  entitle  the  pupils  to  one-half  college  entrance 
unit  credit  per  semester,  but  that  for  commercial-course  students  it 
might  be  well  to  provide  a  course  of  less  weight  if  such  a  course 
would  better  fit  into  the  commercial  curriculum. 

It  was  agreed  that  each  half  unit  of  home  economics  would  best 
serve  if  so  organized  as  to  complete  in  itself,  i.  e.,  requiring  no  pre- 
requisites save  completion  of  the  junior  high-school  home  economics 
courses. 

It  was  further  agreed  that  the  semester  courses  should  require  as 
high  a  standard  of  scholarship  as  any  other  course  of  equal  weight 
in  the  curriculum. 

In  addition  it  was  agreed  that  60-minute  periods  given  every  day 
with  projects  having  assigned  reading  and  investigation  were  neces- 
sary if  the  work  was  to  be  well  done.  Unfortunately  home  economics 
is  still,  in  some  places,  deemed  a  purely  manual  art,  and  rules  exist 
prohibiting  home  study  requirements. 

Home-economics  instruction  worthy  of  senior  high-school  credit 
must  require  real  study  and  definite  research. 

Some  of  the  semester  courses  suggested  were  these:  A  semester 
on  food  selection,  preparation,  and  service,  based  on  a  good  textbook 
and  requiring  visits  to  markets,  dairies,  milk  stations,  abattoirs,  and 
bakeries.  A  semester  on  costume  design  and  dressmaking,  stressing 
art,  applied  design,  and  the  economics  of  buying,  and  entailing  visits 
to  stores,  clothing  factories,  and  clotlj.  manufactories.  A  semester 
on  household  designs  and  house  furnishing,  necessitating  visits  to 
houses  under  construction,  plumbing  shops,  brickyards,  and  other 
building  material  yards,  and  to  furnished  houses  and  house  furnish- 
ing departments.  A  semester  on  household  sanitation  and  household 
management,  with  visits  to  the  city  water  supply  system  and  sewage 
disposal  plant.  A  semester  on  laws  affecting  the  status  of  women  and 
children,  on  banking  customs,  and  the  general  principles  involved  in 
investing  savings.  Less  intensive  courses  entitling  the  student  to  a 
fraction  of  a  credit  could  be  arranged  for  girls  in  the  commercial  or 
academic  courses.    These  might  be  as  follows : 

A  semester  course  of  two  hours  a  week  on  the  purchase  and  care  / 
of  wearing  apparel.     In  this  course  no  effort  would  be  made  to/ 


10  HOMR  ECONOMICS  INSTRUCTION, 

develop  skill,  but  rather  to  train  in  making  wise  choices  of  ready-to- 
wear  garments,  such  as  stockings,  shoes,  hats,  under  and  outside 
garments,  and  in  giving  such  garments  proper  care  and  repair. 

A  course  in  the  purchase  of  ready  cooked  foods  and  in  the  relation 
of  food  to  health  and  working  efficiency  could  easily  be  arranged, 
since  the  employed  girl  is  so  often  handicapped  in  her  working  career 
by  difficulties  preventable  or  curable  b}'  proper  diet. 

A  two-hour  course  on  the  management  of  the  income  and  on  laws 
affecting  the  employed  woman  would  prove  both  valuable  and  inter- 
esting. 

It  was  shown  that  600  girls  in  the  commercial  course  in  one  business 
high  school  having  1,000  pupils  elected  such  coui*ses  in  home  eco- 
nomics. 

These  conditions  seem  essential  before  elective  courses  will  prove 
popular  in  senior  high  schools.  The  courses  must  be  such  as  to  inter- 
est the  type  of  girl  attending  the  school  and  meet  a  conscious  need. 
The  courses  must  be  well  taught  by  the  teachers  of  understanding 
minds.  The  principal  of  the  school  must  be  one  who  appreciates  the 
value  of  home-economics  education. 

RELATION  OF  THE  HOME  ECONOMICS  DEPARTMENT  TO  THE 
GENERAL  HEALTH  PROGRAM  OF  THE  SCHOOL. 

These  statements  were  agreed  upon:  That  every  home-economics 
woman  should  stand  ready  to  lend  her  aid  in  insuring  to  all  children 
a  knowledge  of  what  constitutes  right  health  habits;  that  usually 
there  is  no  other  member  of  the  school-teaching  staff  so  well  pre- 
pared to  give  information  relating  to  nutrition  as  is  the  home- 
economics  teacher ;  that  her  knowledge  relating  to  child  health  is  not 
complete,  but  that  she  can  easily  acquire  the  additional  knowledge, 
since  usually  she  has  had  college  courses  in  chemistry,  general  biology, 
physiology,  bacteriolog}',  home  nursing,  and  in  foods  and  nutrition ; 
that  the  discovery  of  sickness  is  the  province  of  the  doctor;  that 
the  home  follow-up  work  in  cases  of  disease  is  the  province  of  the 
nurse,  but  that  questions  of  diet  should  fall  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  home-economics  teacher  and  that  she  should  shoulder  her 
burden  even  if  it  for  a  period  amounts  to  an  excessive  draft  upon 
her  time;  that  because  her  classes  are  largely  with  girls  in  certain 
grades,  she  should  cooperate  with  other  teachers  in  making  her 
knowledge  of  foods  available  to  all. 

One  city  supervisor,  without  additional  help,  handled  in  her  de- 
partment $10,000  worth  of  bread  and  milk  each  month.  Because 
she  did  this,  there  came  a  time  when  she  was  given  an  extra  clerk 
and  an  extra  home-economics  teacher  to  oversee  this  work  in  the 
future.  This  was  only  a  part  of  her  health  service,  for  she  also 
administered  hot  lunches  supplied  in  most  of  the  schools  of  that  city. 

A  unique  experiment  in  health  teaching  was  carried  out  in  a 
northwestern  coast  city.    Instruction  in  right  food  habits  was  given 


HOME  ECONOMICS  INSTRUCTIOK.  11 

by  the  home-economics  staff  to  groups  of  children  suffering  from 
malnutrition,  and  a  spirit  of  competition  for  attaining  normal  weight 
was  awakened. 

The  prize  winners  were  given  a  trip  to  the  home-economics  de- 
partment at  the  State  university  and  allowed  to  inspect  rats  which 
were  being  experimented  upon  in  order  to  exhibit  the  effects  of  nor- 
mal and  adequate  diets,  and  various  other  diets,  each  deficient  in  one 
or  more  essential  foods.  The  children  were  most  intensely  interested 
in  seeing  what  happened  to  rats  when  they  ate  the  wrong  food  and 
readily  made  comparisons  between  the  rat's  physical  condition  and 
their  own  previous  condition  of  malnutrition. 

In  another  city  the  subject  matter  for  talks  on  right  food  habits 
was  acquired  in  the  home-economics  classes.  It  was  prepared  in 
the  English  department,  and  the  talks  were  given  before  all  the  pupils 
in  certain  lower-grade  rooms.  This  made  it  possible  that  the  teach- 
ing given  to  girls  is  these  grades  should  be  carried  to  both  boys 
and  girls  in  other  grades. 

In  one  of  the  largest  cities  in  the  country  all  lunch  work  is  under 
the  administration  of  a  business  department,  but  an  assistant  to  the 
supervisor  plans  all  menus  served  and  provides  that  the  particular 
racial  and  religious  groups  of  children  shall  find  suitable  food  of  a 
type  that  they  will  relish  and  that  will  also  meet  their  physical  needs. 

Wherever  foods  are  served  to  school  children  expert  direction 
should  be  secured  by  placing  the  oversight  of  this  service  under  the 
home  economics  department. 

MEETING   COMMUNITY  NEEDS   AND   ESTABLISHING   COMMUNITY 

CONTACTS. 

Every  particular  class  presents  problems  of  its  own,  and  it  remains 
for  the  ingenious  teacher  to  devise  means  of  articulating  her  instruc- 
tion with  the  community  life.  In  the  conferences  various  teachers 
told  of  their  special  pieces  of  work  along  this  line.  One  teacher  has 
interested  her  pupils  in  the  local  orphans'  home.  At  intervals  all  the 
clean  stockings  of  this  home  are  sent  to  the  school  and  then  mended 
by  the  girls  in  the  clothing  classes.  Different  girls  choose  different 
children  and  plan  a  dress  or  blouse,  select  the  color  and  design,  and 
make  the  garment.  Three  things  are  accomplished — the  little  orphan 
children  have  attractive  garments  differing  one  from  another;  the 
girls  have  experience  in  selection  of  design  and  making,  and,  most 
valuable  of  all,  an  opportunity  for  the  practice  of  altruism  is  afforded. 
The  pupils  in  the  junior  high  schools  of  a  California  city  have 
assumed  responsibility  for  the  welfare  of  the  children  in  the  day 
nurseries.  The  girls  in  the  clothing  classes  have  made  many  garments. 
The  girls  in  the  foods  classes  have  gone  in  groups  of  two  and  prepared 
the  noon  lunches  for  the  little  children.  These  girls  at  stated  times 
have  also  had  the  children  over  to  the  home  economics  department 
for  a  luncheon.    These  arrangements  have  made  it  possible  to  give 


12  HOME   ECONOMICS  INSTRUCTION, 

practical  training  in  preparing  food  for  small  children  besides  afford- 
ing opportunities  for  many  other  lessons  in  child  care. 

In  one  of  the  smaller  cities  (it  was  generally  recognized  at  these 
conferences  that  what  is  possible  in  a  small  city  may  not  be  advisable 
in  a  larger  one)  food  preparation  was  with  quantities  sufficient  for 
a  family  of  six.  The  pupils  always  had  the  privilege  of  buying,  but 
when  it  was  evident  that  the  supply  would  be  greater  than  the  de- 
mand the  teacher  notified  various  townswomen  by  telephone.  These 
women  were  always  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  purchase  cooked  foods 
for  the  cost  of  the  material. 

Carefully  directed  publicity  work  in  this  city  presented  to  school 
patrons  some  of  the  accomplishments  of  the  home  economics  classes. 
The  number  of  garments  made  and  difference  between  the  cost  price 
and  the  sale  value  placed  a  cash  value  upon  the  accomplishments  in 
these  classes.  While  no  educators  would  feel  that  these  were  the  most 
worth-while  results,  yet  they  were  tangible  results  which  the  layman 
might  recognize  while  he  might  fail  to  understand  the  educational 
values. 

In  many  sections  of  the  country  there  has  been  a  very  general  de- 
mand for  reduction  of  taxation.  Because  the  school's  line  of  defense 
is  weakest,  the  attack  for  reduction  of  taxation  has  frequently  been 
directed  against  the  public  schools.  In  almost  every  case  where 
reduction  of  school  expenses  has  been  decided  upon,  music,  art,  home 
economics,  agriculture,  and  manual  arts  have  been  the  first  to  suffer. 

This  may  be  traceable  to  a  reawakening  of  the  long  dormant 
antagonism  between  the  advocates  of  the  so-called  cultural  curricu- 
lum and  those  who  believe  that  the  newer  subjects  are  of  equal  value. 

It  was  stated  in  one  conference  that — 

A  part  of  the  weakness  in  the  defense  of  these  subjects  has  been  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  public  is  uncertain  as  to  just  what  is  to  be  expected  to  result 
from  this  teaching.  Moreover,  while  quite  as  ignorant  of  the  accomplish- 
ments in  English,  history,  or  geography  teaching,  many  school  patrons  trust  to 
their  ability  to  judge  the  efficiency  of  teaching  music,  art,  home  economics, 
agriculture,  or  manual  training. 

The  difficulties  encountered  by  home  economics  teachers  have  not 
been  well  understood.  Home  economics  frequently  has  been  taught 
but  once  a  week,  the  classes  have  been  large,  the  children  have  been 
from  homes  affording  greatly  varying  conditions,  the  equipment 
for  teaching  home  economics  has  been  inadequate,  and  the  rooms 
have  been  unsatisfactory  and  unsuitable.  It  is  not  surprising  that 
the  progress  of  the  girl  has  not  been  marked.  Seldom  have  the 
conditions  of  teaching  been  presented  to  the  mothers  in  the  school 
community. 

NEW  ROOMS  AND  EQUIPMENT. 

Great  diversity  of  opinion  was  manifested  in  regard  to  what 
composed  satisfactory  equipment  for  home  economics  departments. 


HOME  ECONOMICS  INSTEUCTION.  18 

Many  of  the  supervisors  attending  the  New  York  conference  vis- 
ited new  foods  and  housekeeping  rooms  in  a  New  York  City  school. 
As  explained  by  the  home  economics  supervisor,  these  rooms  pro- 
vided for  12  girls,  or  one-third  of  the  class,  doing  individual  small 
quantity  cooking  at  one  long  table  with  individual  stores  along  the 
center;  for  12  girls  in  three  unit  kitchens  doing  family  sized  recipe 
work,  while  the  last  third  of  the  class  worked  in  a  small  housekeep- 
ing suite  at  general  housekeeping.  Two  teachers  were  in  charge  of 
the  class.  Twenty-six  was  the  number  planned  for,  but  the  number 
was  sometimes  greater. 

In  Chicago  newly  and  differently  equipped  rooms  are  being  tried 
out.  The  supervisor  there  does  not  advocate  a  bathroom  as  part  of 
the  home  economics  equipment.  She  holds  that  the  need  of  any  work 
which  is  done  should  be  evident  to  the  child  and  that  cleaning  an 
unused  tub  is  an  absurdity  that  the  child  will  recognize  as  such. 
The  ordinary  lavatory  basins  need  cleaning  and  require  the  same  kind 
of  treatment  as  does  a  tub,  and  therefore  the  basin  sulSices  and  the 
tub  is  unnecessary. 

The  same  is  equally  true  of  an  unused  or  but  slightly  used  house- 
keeping apartment.  An  apartment  to  be  of  value  should  serve  some 
real  purpose — it  may  be  the  girls'  social  center,  the  teachers'  rest 
room  and  lunch  room,  or  it  may  be  a  room  used  by  the  school  nurse. 
The  point  stressed  in  the  meetings  was  that  it  must  have  normal  and 
constant  use  in  order  that  the  care  of  it  may  be  justified  in  the  minds 
of  the  pupil  and  that  unless  such  a  use  exists  the  home  economics  de- 
partment should  not  request  its  establishment. 

A  California  supervisor  is  equipping  all  new  foods  classrooms  as 
a  series  of  unit  kitchens.  These  kitchens  are  about  10  by  9  feet,  open 
across  the  front,  and  with  partitions  about  7  feet  high.  In  her  words, 
"the  children  love  to  work  in  them."  As  one  of  the  objectives  of 
home-economics  teaching  is  to  make  the  girls  love  the  activities  of 
the  household,  such  equipment  is  justified  if  it  does  so  appeal  to  the  child. 

The  equipment  of  these  unit  kitchens  was  not  more  expensive  than 
the  old-type  hollow  square.  The  tables  used  were  common  conuner- 
cial  kitchen  tables,  the  stoves  were  the  ordinary  cabinet  gas  stoves 
most  commonly  used  in  the  homes  of  the  school  patrons,  and  the 
kitchen  cabinets  were  of  a  commercial  type.  A  minimum  of  plumb- 
ing was  required,  because  wherever  possible  the  stoves  were  back  to 
back,  as  were  the  sinks. 

As  there  was  a  sink  for  every  four  pupils,  this  item  was  of  greater 
cost  than  in  the  older  type  of  equipment,  but  the  cabinet  stove,  ab- 
sence of  portable  ovens,  and  relatively  short  runs  of  plumbing  pipes 
counterbalanced  the  sink  expense.  Commercial  kitchen  tables  and 
cabinets  are  far  less  expensive  than  the  hollow  square  desks  and 
built-in  cabinets. 

Whether  the  tables  are  placed  back  to  back,  with  a  sink  at  one  end 
and  a  stove  at  the  other,  or  the  stoves  are  placed  in  groups  of  four, 


14  HOMK  KOONOMICS  INSTRUCTION. 

with  the  tables  also  grouped  and  sinks  located  along  the  walls,  or 
the  unit  kitchen  arrangement  is  chosen,  or  some  modification  of  these 
selei'ted  that  will  meet  peculiar  local  needs  and  local  conditions, 
it  seems  certain  that  the  installation  of  permanently  located  desks 
in  hollow  squares,  with  an  individual  stove  for  each  pupil,  is  des- 
tined to  be  abandoned. 

To  make  the  foods  room  approach  as  nearly  as  possible  the  con- 
ditions existing  in  a  satisfactory  home  seems  to  be  the  ambition  of 
all  home-economics  teachers  and  supervisors. 

All  agreed  upon  certain  desirable  conditions  for  home  economics: 

1.  There  should  be  no  basement  ix)oms. 

2.  There  should  always  be  side  lighting. 

3.  There  should  be  no  uncovered  cement  floors. 

4.  The  coloring  of  walls  should  be  light  and  attractive. 

5.  There  should  be  ample  blackboard  and  bulletin- board  space. 

6.  Every  foods  room  and  every  clothing  classroom  should  have  a 
storage  closet  or  closets. 

7.  Ample  locker  space  is  essential. 

8.  An  abundant  supply  of  hot  water  at  all  times  is  an  essential 
requisite. 

9.  Lavatory  basins  in  each  foods  and  each  clothing  room  are 
necessary. 

10.  A  drinking  spigot  or  sanitary  bubbler  should  be  at  each  lava- 
tory basin, 

11.  Provision  for  the  proper  service  of  food  is  an  essential. 

12.  Good  work  can  not  be  done  in  excessively  large  classes;  hence 
equipment  for  20  pupils  is  sufficient. 

13.  All  home-economics  rooms  should  be  contiguous  and  should 
also  be  near  to  art  rooms  and  the  school  lunch  room. 

14.  Overelaborate  equipment  is  not  desired,  and  the  custom  ob- 
taining in  some  places  of  allowing  the  building  architect  to  design 
the  home-economics  equipment  is  deplored. 

15.  The  administrative  head  of  home  economics  should  always  be 
consulted,  and  she  should  make  herself  ready  to  decide  intelligentlj'^ 
on  questions  of  rooms  and  equipment. 

RESEARCH  IN  HOME-ECONOMICS  EDUCATION. 

At  the  Poitland  meeting  there  was  an  interesting  description  of 
certain  home-economics  educational  research  that  was  done  at  the 
State  University  of  Washington. 

This  research  centered  around  the  question,  What  do  girls  do  at 
home,  preparation  for  which  should  be  taught  at  school  ?  The  direct 
personal  interview  method  of  securing  replies  to  a  rather  lengthy 
questionnaire  was  decided  upon,  as  there  seemed  no  reason  to  doubt 
that  the  most  accurate  data  are  secured  in  this  way. 

The  interviewers  made  certain  observations  as  to  type  of  home, 
attitude  of  mother,  standards  of  housekeeping,  etc.    Other  informa- 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACIUTy_ 

HOME   fX^ONOMICS  INSTBUOI 

A    001  139  362 

tion  was  secured  by  questioning  the  mother.  Whenever  possible  the 
presence  of  the  recently  graduated  eighth-grade  girl  was  secured. 

The  replies  elicited  evidenced  that  relatively  few  girls  have  mana- 
gerial duties  in  the  home,  but  that  the  great  majority  assist  in  the 
household  in  many  ways.  If  the  answers  sometimes  favored  the  girls 
and  presented  an  over-optimistic  picture  of  the  household  assistance 
they  rendered,  it  at  least  presented  a  view  of  what  the  mothers  con- 
ceived as  being  desirable  attainments. 

It  was  suggested  that,  if  this  type  of  research  problem  were  under- 
taken in  a  number  of  different  colleges  and  universities,  from  reliable 
replies  to  a  thousand  questionnaires  data  could  be  secured  which 
would  guide  in  the  development  of  really  valuable  courses  of  study. 

PLATOON  TYPE  OF  SCHOOLS. 

Home  economics  in  the  platoon  type  of  school  was  discussed  in 
many  of  the  conferences.  Certain  conclusions  were  reached:  First, 
that  the  home-economics  teacher  should  be  willing  to  adjust  her 
schedule  to  the  general  school  plan,  but  that  she  should  urge  upon 
the  school  authorities  the  need  of  60-minute  periods  daily;  second, 
that  classes  should  not  exceed  20  pupils ;  third,  that  by  the  adoption 
of  the  platoon  plan  (otherwise  spoken  of  as  the  Gary  plan)  the  home- 
economics  pupils  should  not  be  exploited  by  being  required  to  cook 
for  the  school  lunch.    As  was  said  at  one  meeting : 

It  is  as  unreasonable  to  expect  the  girls  to  cook  for  the  lunch  room  constantly 
as  it  would  be  to  expect  the  boys  daily  to  fire  the  furnace  or  clean  the  halls, 
both  of  these  latter  jobs  necessitate  certain  skill  and  knowledge  and  might  be 
really  educational  for  a  few  days,  but  after  those  few  days  they  would  be 
merely  schoolboy  exploitation.  So  it  is  when  little  girls  must  have  all  of 
their  food  work  in  lunch-room  kitchens. 

,.  ^  ,^,,  •  IMPROVEMENT  OF  TEACHERS  IN  SERVICE. 

This  topic  received  especial  consideration  at  the  New  York  and 
Chicago  meetings.  The  change  of  personnel  of  the  home  economics 
teaching  staff  was  shown  to  be  frequent.  In  one  city  the  changes 
average  an  entirely  new  staff  every  two  years.  The  probability  is 
that  this  is  not  greater  than  is  general  over  the  country. 

In  consequence,  much  of  the  time  and  attention  of  the  city  super- 
visor of  home  economics  is  devoted  to  securing  and  developing  new 
teachers.     One  supervisor  gave  her  method  somewhat  as  follows : 

Among  my  regular  teachers — I.  e.,  those  who  have  been  with  me  several 
years — I  have  some  that  are  wonderfully  good.  These  I  never  meddle  with. 
I  go  to  them  not  to  improve  them  but  to  improve  myself.  Frequently  I  incor- 
porate in  brief  circular  letters  the  inspiration  gained  from  them.  I  often  send 
my  struggling,  new  teacher  to  them  that  she  may  learn  by  observation  how  to. 
solve  her  problems.  There  are  always  some  teachers  who  are  willing  and 
desirous  of  doing  good  work,  but  lack  courage  and  initiative.  These  are  the 
ones  I  prod  up  with  one  or  two  page  circular  letters.  In  every  school  system 
there  are  some  hopelessly  poor  teachers.  These  we  must  endure  and  place 
where  they  can  do  the  least  harm. 


16  HOME  ECONOMICS  INSTRUCTION. 

It  is  evident  that  the  supervisor  in  the  small  city  has  a  much 
easier  job  in  reg:ard  to  teacher  improvement  than  have  supervisors 
who  at  most  can  see  their  teachers  but  once  in  a  year. 

COOKING-CLASS  PRODUCTS. 

The  suggestion  as  to  the  use  of  cooking-class  products  varied 
greatly.  It  was  the  general  opinion  that  junior  and  senior  high 
school  girls  should  use  quantities  approximately  the  size  demanded 
for  a  family  of  five  or  six  and  that  as  much  independent  work  should 
be  done  as  possible. 

The  plan  of  marketing  class-cooked  foods  in  the  school  lunch 
room  met  with  approval  when  in  such  an  arrangement  the  pupil 
and  teacher  can  be  protected  from  exploitation.  Since  lunches  are 
not  served  in  all  schools,  nor  are  all  classes  conducted  in  the  morn- 
ing, nor  are  all  lunches  when  served  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
school  authorities,  this  method  of  affording  an  outlet  for  cooked 
foods  is  not  always  possible.  Lunches  for  teachers  also  serve  as  a 
legitimate  project,  but  again  there  are  diificulties.  The  teachers  are 
not  always  willing  to  be  experimented  upon,  nor  are  the  classes 
always  scheduled  for  the  late  morning  hours. 

Marketing  the  product  in  the  community  has  proved  feasible  in 
places  from  New  York  City  to  Puget  Sound,  but  some  school  boards 
do  not  permit  the  handling  of  money  by  the  teachers.  "  They  can  trust 
the  minds  of  the  children  to  the  teachers,  but  dollars,  being  more 
precious  to  them,  they  do  not  so  intrust."  One  Puget  Sound  city 
will  finance  the  foods  work  by  the  sale  of  the  product  with  no  labora- 
tory expense  to  the  school  system.  There  will  be  much  educational 
gain  by  this  business  arrangement,  but  there  will  also  be  no  incon- 
siderable loss. 

Where  foreign  people  have  been  accustomed  to  buy  at  delicatessen 
shops,  they  readily  buy  the  products  of  the  school-class  work. 

In  some  of  the  smaller  cities  it  has  been  possible  to  secure  almost 
all  supplies  for  the  foods  work  from  the  homes  of  the  pupils  and  to 
return  the  cooked  product  to  that  home. 

Not  even  in  all  parts  of  a  city  can  the  same  practices  be  followed, 
but  it  is  certain  that  the  experience  gained  from  using  larger  quan- 
tities and  the  stimulus  of  the  criticism  of  those  who  consume  the 
produced  article  are  of  undoubted  value  and  should  not  willingly  be 

overlooked. 

BENEFIT  OF  THE  CONFERENCES. 

Not  nearly  all  of  the  benefit  derived  from  these  conferences  re- 
sulted from  the  discussions  from  the  floor  and  by  the  listed  speakers. 
Discussions  of  topics  of  special  interest  before  and  after  the  regular 
sessions  in  impromptu  committees  and  at  the  meals  were  of  greatest 
value,  and  the  acquaintances  there  established  will  continue  a  source 
of  strength  throughout  the  year.  ' 

o 


